Pretzels take regional

NEW BERLIN — Alyssa Vignos said she was really nervous. Liz Lascody said everyone was scared. Claire Hemberger said she was about to cry.

But when it was time to win, members of the New Berlin volleyball team managed to put their nerves aside. They knew what to do.

New Berlin beat Pawnee 28-26, 24-26, 26-24 to win the New Berlin Regional championship Thursday night. The Pretzels advance to the Routt Sectional, where they’ll play Mount Olive in the semifinals Tuesday night. First serve is at 6:30 p.m.

New Berlin built leads late in all three games, and held on in the first and third games to win Thursday night.

“I’m just telling them to focus on what they can control,” New Berlin coach Jeni McDonald said. “Focus on getting their feet to the ball and executing and communication, to try not to let the intensity of what’s going on in the situation … we can’t control that. We can’t control how loud the gym is. We can’t control what the other team is going to do. But there’s a lot of stuff that we can control.”

“It takes a lot of mental toughness to stay in it,” Lascody said. “Keep doing what you’re doing. Even if you make a mistake and it’s at 25-25, you’ve just got to keep on staying in it and stay strong.”

New Berlin led 24-22 in the second game, but Pawnee scored six straight points to win that one. New Berlin found itself in the same position in the third game with a 24-21 lead. Pawnee scored three straight points, tying the score 24-24 on a serve-receive error.

But on the next point, New Berlin got the ball to Lascody, who hammered a spike that Pawnee never quite got a handle on. That put the Pretzels on top by a point.

“I’m pretty sure I was going line,” Lascody said. “I was just listening to my back row and going wherever they told me — hoping to have that fast arm swing and put it down for my team.”

At that point, Lascody wasn’t nervous at all.

“Not really,” she said. “It’s usually when the ball’s coming at me and I’m getting ready to pass. That’s where my nerves are. And then as I watch the ball come out of the setter’s hand, that’s when I get all my momentum and strength, and I’m like, ‘OK, I’ve got this.’ And I try to time myself just so I can hit it right on.”

With a 25-24 lead, Vignos stepped behind the service line and picked up an ace, hitting the ball just inside the back line for match point.

“I decided not to jump-serve because I knew I could get my standing overhand serve in,” Vignos said. “So I did, and I got an ace. So that was awesome. And then I don’t remember after that.”

After that, as her teammates were jumping around celebrating, Vignos got a cramp in her calf. She eventually had to lie down on the court until it passed.

“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “It just cramped up. Good thing it was an ace because I would have been down.”

In the first game, New Berlin led 23-19 before Pawnee scored five straight points to take a 24-23 lead. Pawnee led 26-25 but couldn’t close it out, serving the ball out of bounds, then hitting into the net to give the Pretzels a 27-26 advantage. New Berlin won that game on a kill by Anna Owens.

“We played them earlier in the season, and it went three, and it was point for point,” McDonald said. “Especially in the second set, we kind of got a little tentative and let that lead slip away. But that’s a really good team, and we had to fight for every point. And to be honest with you, sometimes it’s just who wins is who wins. They’re a good team.”

Lascody and Malena Bixby led New Berlin with seven kills apiece. Vignos had 20 digs, and Lascody had 16. Hemberger had 20 assists for the Pretzels, who improved to 24-11.

“I was going to cry at the very end if we lost that game, for sure,” Hemberger said. “It’s my last season, and I just really love this team so much. It’s really going to be sad when it’s over.”

But it’s not over yet.

“We came in really excited,” Vignos said. “A lot of us were really nervous. And some were just ready to go. And I would say we brought it. I’m happy with the outcome, obviously.”